Page 14 of Thorns That Bloom
“No,” I somehow get out.
They all pause to turn to me. I’m almost as surprised as they are that some words finally came out, even if I sound shaky and pathetic.
Did I get over the threshold of losing it without even realizing it? It feels like I might manage not to slip into a full-on panic attack if they just…
“G-go. Please. Just…please, leave,” I whisper desperately, hoping they listen.
“I’m sorry,” the blond mutters, but when the other alphasnorts, he turns back to him with a frown. “Maybe if you didn’t stand over him like a pack of—”
“What the fuck? Who put you in charge of the toilet security?!” The frustration growing in his voice makes me feel like I’m losing the fragile grip on my emotions I’ve gotten. The alpha gets all up in the blond’s face. “He wasn’t in the stall when we got here. He was on the floor, trembling like a leaf, so we were tryin’ to make sure he was alright.”
“And how did that work out?” the blond retorts swiftly.
The other man tightens his fist, and my chest clenches instinctively. Thankfully, someone else comes in before the two jump at each other.
“What the hell is going on here? What is this?”
I don’t recognize the voice, but it sounds older, more measured. All four men standing in front of the stall look like dogs with their ears down and their tails between their legs the moment he shows up.
Is he a supervisor? He seems to have that effect on them.
“There’s a pregnant omega in there,” the alpha says, not even looking at me, and walks out of my field of vision, intentionally brushing his shoulder against the blond as he passes him. The younger alpha snickers but doesn’t retaliate. Instead, he watches the other two men leave with him and waits for the newcomer to come closer.
“He’s um…yeah,” he mutters, glancing at me briefly before he rubs the back of his neck and steps away.
The man who walks in immediately puts me at ease. I don’t know if it’s thebalding sixty-year-old gym teachervibe he has going on or the fact that he’s most definitely a beta. The uniform he has on, slightly different from the others, and thename tag, confirm that he is, indeed, one of the senior staff from the manufacturing floor.
“Oh, dear,” he says the moment he lays his eyes on me.Do I look that rough?“Get out of here and let me sort this, Theo.”
The blond nods and leaves, uttering a quick, “I’m sorry.”
One of the many knots inside my stomach releases when it’s only me and the man in the room. But when I look down at my hands, I realize I’m still trembling. And sweating buckets, too.
“Son, can you tell me what’s wrong? Do you want me to call someone?” the man asks, his kind, wise eyes gently glancing across my body to see if there’s something visibly wrong.
I shake my head quickly. “No, I-I need to…get back to work.” Kristoff is going to be worried about me. He’ll probably rush in here soon. And I still have so much to do after lunch that—
“Hey, hey,” he interrupts my train of thought with that fatherly, caring voice. The air is clearing, too. All I can smell are my own pheromones, which I shouldn’t be able to do. It must mean they’re pouring completely out of my control.Fuck. “Let’s make sure you’re…” he pauses briefly, looking down at my stomach that I’ve been subconsciously caressing, “...bothokay, yeah? Let me get someone with a first-aid certification to have a look at you at least, hm?” he asks with an inviting smile.
What if all this stress hurts the baby? The doctors told me before that it wouldn’t, it shouldn’t, but I still can’t help but feel guilty. So damn guilty and stupid for allowing myself to go through this. They can feel my emotions. I made them experience the same panic I experienced, and that isn’t right.
“O-okay,” I whisper, nodding. Maybe it won’t be too bad tomake sure this really is just an unfortunate side-effect of the pregnancy and not something serious.
“Good. I won’t let anyone else in, alright? Just stay here.”
When the man leaves and I’m alone, the weight of it all lands on my shoulders. The ridiculousness of this entire situation. The way I almost folded over something like this. As I hug myself and try to push those pesky negative feelings away, it dawns on me that…I might not be able to.
Sighing, I look down at my shoes.
I’m not being responsible. This isn’t healthy. It might be time for me to find a therapist again, no matter how much I’ve tried to avoid having to do that. Brute forcing my way through these situations, and healing, won’t do it…
I’m going to need to work on it. For real this time.
Chapter 5
Theo
Anxiously tapping my foot, I sit on that shitty, hard couch outside Gary’s office, waiting for my turn. He’s been talking to Christian there for a few minutes now. I’m sure I’ll get the same kind of lecture after our almost-scuffle at the toilets.
